The numbers of people learning about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in a wide variety of foods and choosing to shop and eat non-GMO point to such a growing movement that the largest natural foods retailer took notice and recently made a groundbreaking announcement concerning GMOs. The statement was so big that there was quite a bit of coverage from print and TV media outlets, including a local Tucson TV station who interviewed me (see video below).

The big news of March was the announcement that by 2018 Whole Foods Market would require labeling of genetically engineered foods sold in their store for products that were not either organic or verified by the Non-GMO Project. The surprise move came as a response “to our customers who have consistently asked us for GMO labeling and we are doing so by focusing on where we have control: in our own stores,” Walter Robb, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, was quoted as saying in a StreetInsider report. In other words, by speaking up and voting with their wallets in what they choose to purchase, consumers really are instigating the changes they seek in the food system. By exercising their consumer power, it is gradually becoming much easier to shop and eat non-GMO foods.

On April 3, KVOA Channel 4, a local NBC affiliate station in Tucson, covered the topic, as you’ll see in the video below, and the segment ran three different times throughout the day. I was pleased to be able to share the information and thought the station and the reporter Ryan Haarer did an excellent job of explaining the subject in less than a few minutes.

I love the way the anchors began the segment saying: “You are what you eat: That old saying lays the foundation for a pretty wholesome diet. But what happens when you don’t know exactly what you’re eating?” …. Those words pointing to the lack of transparency in what is in our food (and the resulting conclusion you can reach that we’re guinea pigs in an experiment we didn’t know we were in) pretty much sum up a few of the key problems with GMOs, don’t they?